Ornamental metal railing



March 21, 1961 s. DELLAGALA 2,976,013

ORNAMENTAL METAL RAILING Filed Aug. 8, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG? INVENTOR ,SABATO DE LLAGALA ATTORNEY S. DELLAGALA ORNAMENTAL METAL RAILING March 21, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 8, 1958 INVENTOR SABATO DE LLAGALA ATTORNEY United States Patent ORNAMENTAL METAL RAILING Sabato Dellagala, 709 Franklin St., Worcester, Mass.

Filed Aug. 8, 1958, Ser. No. 753,985

1 Claim. (Cl. 256-21) This invention relates to a new and improved ornamental metal railing or balustrade and also to a novel method of making the same. The new railing or bal ustrade includes a greatly improved construction which is less expensive to manufacture than prior are devices and which may be made and assembled by anyone.

The principal object of the invention resides in the provision of a die or the like in which strips of soft iron or other metal may be easily bent to conform thereto, and such shaped strips are then assembled together as for instance in back-to-back or reversed relation forming an ornamental stile design; and the provision of a new and improved method of attaching said strips to top and bottom rails for improvement of the construction and lessening of the expense of making the same, said connection to the top and bottom rails involving tabs at the ends of the formed strips of iron, in combination with apertures in a channel or the like forming a part of the railing, the tabs being inserted through the apertures and then bent over in conformance with tht inside surface of the bottom member of the channel, said tabs being alternatively attached thereto as by welding, braz ing or riveting.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a stronger, less expensive and lighter-weight ornamental iron railing or balustrate, and to a new and improved method of shaping and assembling the same.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a view in elevation illustrating the novel iron railing;

Fig. 2 is an end view of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating a bendable tab;

Fig. 6 is a view in side elevation, looking in the direction of arrow 6 in Fig. 5; and

Figs 7 and 8 show modifications of the shape of the iron strips.

In carrying out the present invention, there is provided a die or the like which is made in such a way as to provide for bending a strip of iron or similar material in the general shape of the member 10 as shown in Fig. 1. These members 10 are exactly alike and are made in the same die and may be made in various configurations as is apparent in Fig. 7. In Fig. 7 the strips are indicated at 12 and have been reversed relative to each other as in Fig. 1, and in addition, ornamental metal members 14 have also been added in order to increase the ornamental effect. This, however, is a matter of design and does not affect the present invention. The disclosure of Fig. 7 is merely to illustrate that many different shapes of metal strips may be utilized in carrying out the present invention.

W 2,976,018 Patented Mar. 21, 1961 Referring again to Fig. 1, it will be seen that two strips '10, 10 are reversed with respect to each other to form a stile or spindle. In this case, these strips have outwardly bent end members 16 and center projections 18 as well as intermediate lesser projections 20, 20. The strips are so formed that by reversing two strips 10, 10 with respect to each other, they abut at the projections 20, 20; and in arranging the next pair of strips 10, 10, the same abut each other as by means of the end extensions at 16, 16.

It will be seen that this provides an extremely strong railing even though mild steel and relatively thinstrips may be used to make strips 10. Aluminum could also be used for this purpose. However, by having the various strips abut each other at various points, the entire construction is considerably strengthened and if desired, the projections at 18 may be riveted, brazed, are or spotwelded.

The end extensions at 16, 16 are each provided with reduced tabs 22 as best shown in Figs. 5 and 6. These tabs are formed in the same die in which the ornamental strips themselves are formed.

In assembling the railing, there is provided an upper rail and a lower rail. These rails are constructed in a. similar manner so that only the upper rail is shown in detail in Figs. 3 and '4. The upper rail includes a channel member 24 having upright legs and a closed bottom member. This closed member is apertured to correspond to the spacing of the end extensions 16. The tabs 22 are thrust through these apertures, see reference numeral 26 in Fig. 4. Then the tabs are bent over as shown in solid lines in Figs. 4 and 3; and if desired, this finishes the assembly of the parts.

Tabs 22 may be brazed, spot or arc welded, or riveted to the bottom of channel 24 and then the channel may be closed as by a plate 30. This plate 30 may itself be ornamental and may be shaped in any form desired or it may be in channel shape to lap over the side walls of the channels 24. This closing plate 30 is not ordinarily used to close the channel 28 forming the bottom rail of the construction because the lower channel is inverted 'With respect to the upper channel as clearly seen in Fig. 2.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claim, but what is claimed is:

A metal railing comprising a series of stiles and an apertured top and bottom rail, the stiles being connected to the rails, the extreme end portions of the stiles extending laterally and overlying the top rail at the top of the railing and underlying the bottom rail at the bottom, the stiles being of uniform fiat metal bar stock and extending full width through the respective apertures at top and bottom, each stile including a laterally extending portion intermediate the ends thereof and each said portion contacting a like but reversed portion on an adjacent stile, and each laterallyextending end portion contacting a similar end portion of an adjacent stile in the respective aperture therefor, there being a pair of flat end portions in each aperture, the flat stiles all being located at right angles to the length of the rails.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Coons June 6, 1854 

